Divided Huntersville Planning Board recommends rejecting Birkdale Village expansion
On a split vote late Tuesday, the Huntersville Planning Board recommended denying a request by the owner of Birkdale Village to expand the longtime mixed-use community near Lake Norman.
The board voted 4-3 against plans by Jamestown, the new owner, to add a 125-room hotel, 150 multi-family units, 26,715 square feet of commercial space and an office building to the development.
The Huntersville Board of Commissioners, which has final say, is scheduled to consider and vote on the developer’s rezoning request on March 18.
Jamestown representatives touted the economic benefits of their proposal while 10 residents urged the Planning Board to vote down the request, citing traffic and crowding concerns.
The plan “does not enhance the ambiance of Birkdale Village,” resident Peter Romaniello said.
Three residents spoke in favor of the expansion.
“What we don’t want is for a few dissenting voices to hold back progress for the next 10 or 20 years,” resident Katie Collins said.
Birkdale Village is the town’s largest taxpayer, representatives of Atlanta-based Jamestown said. The development is off Interstate 77 Sam Furr Road exit 25.
Jamestown proposes removing two buildings and constructing three new ones: a six-story office building, a six-story multifamily building and a five-story hotel.
Two parking decks would be replaced with a seven-story, 537-space parking deck and a four-story, 291-space parking deck. Susan Irvin, a Cornelius lawyer representing the developer, told the Planning Board that Jamestown is willing to add a fifth level to the four-story deck.
Jamestown bought the development last year from the Atlanta subsidiary of North American Properties.
The new buildings would produce $200 million in direct construction spending and $212 million in annual employment benefits to the town, Jamestown representatives told the Town Board on Feb. 5.
The expansion would generate $200,000 in additional annual property tax revenues to Huntersville, Jamestown officials said.
The hotel would be similar to those in the Autograph Collection, a group of independent, upper-scale luxury hotels in the Marriott International portfolio, Jamestown representatives said.
Planning Board members who voted to recommend denial said the proposal was out of character with that area of Lake Norman, particularly the office building.
Those who voted for the plan cited the economic benefits and said the expansion would enhance the area.
This is the second effort to expand Birkdale Village and add more parking, a proposal that generated similar concerns.
In 2023, the Huntersville Board of Commissioners denied former Birkdale Village owner North American Properties’ zoning request to add 450 parking spaces and a multi-story mixed-use building.
NAP wanted to grow Birkdale Village with a Class A building that would have included 150,000 square feet of offices and 25,000 square feet for commercial businesses. The developer also wanted to add 450 parking spaces.
Citing public opposition, NAP previously removed a planned hotel and 350 apartments from its request to enlarge Birkdale Village.